1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a specifically designed background shield for soccer practice. More specifically this shield is designed to return the soccer ball back to the area from where the ball is kicked. Still more specifically, this background shield is related to a foldable and portable shield which may be transported and which is foldable for storage and for transportation.
2. State of the Prior Art
There are a number of patents describing various background shields for practicing various games. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,591,753 and 4,072,295 disclose foldable screens, backstops or batting cages in which a batter can swing at a thrown baseball without the danger of having the baseball hitting a catcher or a spectator. These are of primarily steel mesh or chain link fences.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,472 shows a portable background net made of nylon or other low extensible threads suitable for practicing tennis, cricket, baseball, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,229,180 describes a game played against a vertical wall with an upper backwardly sloped section, which wall is apparently non-portable and against which a tennis ball, etc., is bounced against the wall. Each of the players has a catching device comprising a handle, a wire loop connected to the handle and an open-ended bag attached to the loop. One player bounces the ball to a designated area on the wall in a manner such that the bounced ball cannot be caught by an opposing player in his “bag”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,791 to Ball describes a shield device to aid in soccer practice and is hereby incorporated by reference. With this device, an individual player can practice kicking a soccer ball into the apparatus and have it bounced back in his or her general area. The lower area of the shield comprises a back panel and two side panels connected at an angle to the back panel. Each panel is made of a sufficiently rigid material, such as thick plywood, to absorb the impact of the kicked soccer ball. Above the panels there is netting, such as nylon netting to guard against and intercept errant flights of the ball. This patent was filed and is owned by the present inventor. Unfortunately, the support structure of the described device does not always keep the shield upright after being hit by a soccer ball.
What is needed is a soccer shield having good ball-return characteristics such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,791 but also having the ability to remain upright after being struck by a soccer ball.